Couscous Salad with Peaches, Arugula, and Pine Nuts

Yield:
Category:
Salads and Dressings
Cuisine:
Greek

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup raw couscous
  • ½ cup skinned almond flakes
  • ½ cup pine nuts
  • 2 or 3 nice Okanogan peaches, washed, pitted, and diced small
  • 1 large bunch of Arugula leaves, trimmed and chopped coarsely if large
  • small handful of fresh mint, chopped
  •  
  • vinaigrette:
  • 3 tbsp hazelnut or almond oil
  • 1 tsp sunflower oil
  • 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Bring 1¼ cups of water to a boil in a pot. Add in the 1 cup of dry couscous and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir.
  2. Place the almond flakes and pine nuts in a dry non-stick frying pan over gentle heat and keep shaking the pan for 1-2 minutes, until the nuts are lightly browned all over. Salt very lightly. Set toasted nuts aside.
  3. Mix the vinaigrette ingredients well in a blender. Taste and adjust by perhaps adding a little more vinegar.
  4. Half an hour before serving, place everything but the toasted nuts in a large bowl and toss gently to coat in the vinaigrette. In the summer the salad is more refreshing served lightly chilled, so cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator at this stage.
  5. To serve, mix in the nuts, and empty onto a decorative platter (preferably a dark one to show off the salad’s colours). Decorate with sprigs of mint.
  6. N.B. Other soft fruits (strawberries, pears, melons) can be substituted fo

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